by greenpawn34 on Dec 18 2011 21:30 | 7592 views | 10 edits | Last edit on Dec 21 2011 14:03
HI Guys,
I asked last Blog if any of you lot could build a chess piece
out of snow. I found these two on the net.
Godzilla solving a chess problem.
And a beautiful Staunton Knight
I'm sure all of you can do better this. (get a pile of snow, it's everywhere,
it's falling from the sky. Dye it green and make a giant greenpawn!)
This Christmas my daughter threatened me with a Kindle.
It’s one of those electrical things you see the Glums staring at on buses.
“It’s great Dad it can hold 3,000 books.”
I don’t want to read 3,000 books and I outlined 12 reasons (one for each day
of Christmas) why I wanted my traditional book token instead of this gimmick.
1. Swatting flies and moths with a Kindle will break it.
2. You cannot tear out a page and roll a fag with it.
3. A Book does not run out of batteries.
4. If I get shot a book will stop the bullet. If a bullet goes through a Kindle
it would shatter and end up doing more damage to you than the bullet would.
5. You cannot bend back the pages to keep your place.
6. You cannot deface the cover if you think it’s naff.
7. Giving your cat a friendly whack over the head with a Kindle may infact kill it.
8. You cannot scribble notes in the margin of a Kindle.
9. If you spill a drink on a book it dries out. A Kindle is now toast.
10. I’ve never been mugged for a book. These Kindle things cost £99.00.
Some of the skanks in my area would stab you in the eye for 50p. I would
suddenly become a target.
11. If you are caught short in the woods you cannot wipe your bum with a Kindle.
12. Most important of all. I simply don’t want one.
I mentioned in previous Blogs that there is an excellent chance that I will
find an example of a RHP player falling into any known opening blunder.
Andrew Martin in his column in the latest British Chess Magazine looks at
the French Winawer game between P Svidler - D Lima, Khanty-Mansiysk, 2011
After the opening moves.
“The queen is very well placed on a4, gumming up the White
queenside and preparing ...b7-b6 and ...Ba6, getting rid of the bad bishop. “
Before we look at the blunder, first the ‘Bad Bishop’ statement by Andrew.
If you look at the diagram you will see the c8 Bishop does not have much
of a future with the Black pawns on e6 and d5. Infact it is in the way and
often takes on the role of a big pawn in pawn formations like this.
If Black can swap this piece off then he has scored a positional victory.
(That is the instructive bit over with…Don’t tell anyone you never learn anything from this Blog.)
The game continued 8.Qb1 c4 with the note from Andrew Martin.
“Please do not allow 9.Bb5+.”
So of course I fired up RHP to see if anyone had indeed allowed 9.Bb5+
in this position, I was not disappointed.
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5 7. Bd2 Qa4 8.Qb1 Ne7 {I wonder if this lad checked all checks} 9. Bb5+ {Bonk! Black resigned}
Danger signals should always be flashing when the King and Queen are
on the same open diagonal. We highlight this with some classic RHP games.
vatiquette - ouroboros RHP 2007
White is the exchange up and just needs to castle and re-organise his
position. The White King and Queen are on the same diagonal but Black has no
visible means of moving the f-pawn to capitalise on this.
He has no need to, it is White’s move.
17.f3 Bg3+ 0-1
The same blunder in a mirror.
Black to Play and Blunder. pujik - muppett RHP 2009
Black is lagging behind in development. The e-pawn is attacked, Black can hold
that with Nd7 which even sets a wee ‘natural move’ trap.
After 11…Nd7 12.Nf3 (a natural move) 12… f5 will win a piece.
(the Bishop drops back to d3 and Black plays a pawn fork with e4).
Instead Black held the e-pawn with 11…f6. 12 Bh6+ 1-0
Everyone wish a Merry Christmas to SkyDnsStar.
As Black SkyDnsStar nicks a pawn that White offered to use as developing bait.
The plan being to use the time lost by the Black Queen to whip up ‘something.’
Black stumbles at the first hurdle, he has the right idea but thinks about it too much.
1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. Nf3 Bf5 5. Qb3 Nb6 6. Nbd2 e6 7. e4 Bg6 8. Bd3 Nc6 9. O-O {The d-pawn is offered, Black takes it.} 9... Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Nf3 {Decisions, decisions, decisions. Best appears to be 11...Qb4 offering the Queen swap. Black decides to have a wee think. Why not get the b6 Knight into the game....} 11... Qa4 {You can see the reasoning. 12.Qxa4 Nxa4 then Nc5 hitting the e-pawn and the d3 Bishop.} 12. Bb5+ {Bonk! Black resigned.}
Here is a White player falling for the same trick, again illustrating a very common
trait in 1400 games. Only looking at your own threats and missing the reply.
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. Qd2 e6 5. Nb5 {This attack on c7 in positions like this is a common sortie at the lower levels. Black usually wards it off and takes over the game due to the time wasted by White.} 5... Na6 6. Qa5 {Good Move. It hits c7 three times. If 6...b6 7.Qxa6 and if 6...Rc8 then 7.Nxa7. Infact it is that good White need not scan the boards looking for any checks.} 6... Bb4+ {Bonk! White resigned.}
The festive fun continues with BillyKasparov - xicoamaral RHP 2007
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. Qd2 e6 5. Nb5 Na6 {Yes you have seen this before. Now instead of 6.Qa5 as in the previous game we see....} 6. Qc3 {Well at least there no checks for White to miss in this line, the Bonk! is coming with 6...Bb5. A Christmas present of a Queen for Black.} 6... Ne4 {The present was returned unopened. Black missed 6....Bb5 and after 7.Qb3 White went onto win. }
Infact this game will wander into Black's dreams forever.
Not only did he miss the win of White’s Queen on move six, he blundered badly
when the win the within his grasp many move later. We rejoin the game near the end.
[FEN "8/5pk1/Q5p1/5p1p/2Rr1q1P/5P1K/6P1/8 w - - 0 1"] {White to play and his best chance is 1.Rxc4 instead he handles the threat of Qxh4 mate thus:} 1. g3 {Black can now play 1...Qxf3 threatening Qh1 mate!. After 1....Qxf3 White is lost. Black missed it and blundered with...} 1... Rd6 {These tit-for-tat exchanges must always be looked at very carefully. If there is a check in the position then it often goes tits up.} 2. Qa1+ {Black resigned. Another lesson. When Chess drops chances into your lap you must take them.}
The Danforce Opening Trap
Recently in the forum the lads were discussing this position after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5.
The standard move is now 2.Nc3 but in 2006 Danforce netted a couple of quickies with 2.d4.
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. d4 Nc6 {Black thinks he has been given a breather and attacks the d-pawn.} 4. Nf3 {White defends the d-pawn.} 4... Bg4 {Black again puts pressure on the d-pawn.} 5. Be2 {The wee Mr. Sly boots move. Black now looks 3 moves ahead....White is looking 4 moves ahead.} 5... Bxf3 {One.} 6. Bxf3 {Two} 6... Qxd4 {Three. End of Black analysis.} 7. Bxc6+ {Four. CHECK! and the Black Queen is lost. 1-0.}
Santa comes down the chimney and sees this position on the chessboard
next to the wee boy’s bed.
He also notices a chess correspondence letter next to the board.
White has written on it 55.Kxh1.
Santa writes a note and sticks it in the wee lad’s stocking.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 {The Cozio Defence. Playable but Black has to know what he is doing, it's not an off the cuff opening.} 4. c3 {With the e-pawn not about to get threatened by Nf6 White builds a centre.} 4... d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. O-O Ng6 {Black now realises one of the drawbacks of the Cozio is the cramped position. You must unwind with care. He played this to get his f8 Bishop into the game.} 7. Ng5 {White is fishing. There is nothing in this. Black should now continue with his plan and simply play 7...Be7 developing with tempo. Instead...} 7... h6 8. Nxf7 {This is interesting. White is betting the game on his lead in development.} 8... Kxf7 9. Bc4+ {Now best appears to be 9...Ke8 allowing the Queen to come to f6 to hold the misplaced g6 Knight. Black moves the King to the wrong square.} 9... Ke7 10. Qh5 {If the g6 Knight moves then Qf7 mate. The speculative White sac has worked. Black is in trouble and must give back the piece. Instead he tries to hang onto it.} 10..Qe8 11. Qg5+ {Bravo!} 11..hxg5 12.Bxg5 {Black has been checkmated.}
Finally, look at this.
A Robin flew in through the window and settled on a White King.
The thread that accompanies this blog is Thread 143952
Answer to the Naff Tale Question. 1…Kf8.
No matter where the Knight is the King moves to same colour square to draw.
Great read. I expected that I may get the PGNs of the game discussed like I do get from the other games played on this site. Instead, is showed....but no email option:-(...
Anyway...great read, thanks.
However, as usual, I didn't understand something. In this case, Andrew's comment. "Do not allow 9. Bb5+"... but surely, with White's queen on c1 instead of b1, Black cannot allow 9. Bb5+, since it will be safe for him to take the bishop?
(This also means that 8... c4 (not c5!) was not (yet) necessary, but hey, it probably would have been soon enough.)
Let me add my Seasonal Greetings to you as well. Your blogs during the year have helped dull the pain of commuting. I did have my kids on stand-by for snow-piece making, but alas a) we live on the south coast so no chance of snow, and, b) they are in their late teens and wanted cash.
Best wishes for the New Year. SN
I seem to get the PGN read out OK.
You have to copy and paste it to where ever you want.
Does anyone else have a problem or is it only me who see
the PGN thingy?
Anyway...great read, thanks.
However, as usual, I didn't understand something. In this case, Andrew's comment. "Do not allow 9. Bb5+"... but surely, with White's queen on c1 instead of b1, Black cannot allow 9. Bb5+, since it will be safe for him to take the bishop?
(This also means that 8... c4 (not c5!) was not (yet) necessary, but hey, it probably would have been soon enough.)
Richard
So build me a Chess Piece Sand Castle.
I too give my kids cash. Then I win it off them at Blitz Chess.
Best wishes for the New Year. SN
-m.